Investigating student communities with network analysis of interactions in a physics learning center

dc.creator	Eric Brewe1,2
dc.creator	Laird Kramer2
dc.creator	Vashti Sawtelle2
dc.creator	Eric Brewe1,2
dc.date	2012-01-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:09:30Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:09:30Z
dc.identifier	1554-9178
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/ea0f2615cf0a4fefb95df09f7014d5a7
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/12860
dc.description	Developing a sense of community among students is one of the three pillars of an overall reform effort to increase participation in physics, and the sciences more broadly, at Florida International University. The emergence of a research and learning community, embedded within a course reform effort, has contributed to increased recruitment and retention of physics majors. We utilize social network analysis to quantify interactions in Florida International University’s Physics Learning Center (PLC) that support the development of academic and social integration. The tools of social network analysis allow us to visualize and quantify student interactions and characterize the roles of students within a social network. After providing a brief introduction to social network analysis, we use sequential multiple regression modeling to evaluate factors that contribute to participation in the learning community. Results of the sequential multiple regression indicate that the PLC learning community is an equitable environment as we find that gender and ethnicity are not significant predictors of participation in the PLC. We find that providing students space for collaboration provides a vital element in the formation of a supportive learning community.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	American Physical Society, APS
dc.relation	: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.8.010101
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1554-9178
dc.source	Physical Review Special Topics. Physics Education Research, Vol 8, Iss 1 (2012)
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Investigating student communities with network analysis of interactions in a physics learning center
dc.type	article